


Nebula in the Arena

by RickRolland



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: F/M, Reimagining of Season 3b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-13 19:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20179846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RickRolland/pseuds/RickRolland
Summary: Following Eclipsa’s high-stakes trial before the Magic High Commission, Star finds herself struggling to reconcile with her parents and make amends for her family’s past. With the prospect of a political disaster just a knife-edge away, the young princess proposes a unique solution, one that would change her home planet forever.





	1. Nobodies

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! Welcome to "Nebula in the Arena", my latest fanfiction and the first entry in my new three-part Star vs. the Forces of Evil fanfiction series. This story is a reimagining of Season 3b, featuring events that will hopefully leave you intrigued and anticipating what's to come. I appreciate any kind of feedback you may have, and hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Season 3, Episode 15a: Nobodies**

* * *

Star Butterfly bolted her way out of the Bureaucracy of Magic, her mother trailing close behind. The clomping of boots and the sound of heavy breathing filled the hallway, eerily resonating off of the walls. Every corner they rounded and stairwell they hastily plopped down provided Star just a little bit more of a lead in the race to the ground floor lobby.

"Star! Come back here this instant!" exclaimed Moon between labored breaths.

Star forged on, disregarding any of her mother's words. Anxiety and fear rapidly surged through her veins, her heart racing as the unsettling revelations of Eclipsa's trial replayed over and over inside her head. As she darted in front of Sean's unoccupied desk, she knew her opportunity to escape was presenting itself. She pulled out a pair of Dimensional Scissors from her purse, holding them several inches away from her.

Moon reached out towards her daughter in vain. "Wait! Don't go, Star!"

While still racing forwards, the Mewnian princess sliced open a portal, dashing into it and out of sight. Moon dove towards the open portal, hoping she'd just be able to slip through and continue following Star. Just inches away from the portal's entrance, it snapped shut and disappeared. Moon came down onto the hard and filthy linoleum floor on her stomach, sliding for several feet before coming to a stop.

"Bother," muttered Moon to herself. She stood back up, gently sweeping the dirt off of her dress with her gloved hands.

Now more determined than ever to catch up with her daughter, Moon took out her own pair of Dimensional Scissors. Almost instinctively, she opened a portal to Butterfly Castle and stepped inside. Upon exiting through the other side, Moon found herself standing underneath the castle's rear portico. She took note of her position, hoping she'd soon be able to find Star.

"I hope she didn't run too far off," thought Moon. A palpable sensation of unease arose in her as she turned around, looking to see if Star was anywhere nearby.

As she gazed towards the nearby castle courtyard, she found what she was looking for. Star was seated at a wooden picnic table several yards away, facing away from the castle. Her elbows were propped up on top of the table, her head resting on the palms of her hands. Not wanting to startle her, Moon softly walked towards her. As she passed by a fancy marble fountain in the courtyard's center, she carefully got Star's attention.

"Star, I can tell you're upset about what happened to Eclipsa," said Moon in a calm voice. "You seemed rather frightened about it earlier. Would you be be up to talking about it now?"

Star slowly turned around to face her mother. Looking her in the eyes, she nodded in approval.

"Sure."

Moon sat down on the bench opposite Star. After pausing for a few moments to collect her thoughts, she continued her line of thinking.

"To put it lightly, that trial was sure… interesting."

"The truth's out now, at least," said Star. "Turns out, Eclipsa didn't do anything wrong, after all. She just fell in love."

Moon, however, felt there was more to it than romantic attachment. "I'm afraid there's much more to Eclipsa's story than that. It seems that she didn't exactly bring to mind the consequences of leaving her kingdom behind in her pursuit of affection."

"But Mom, can't you see? Eclipsa's name was smeared for centuries, all because she fell in love with a Monster. The MHC froze her and broke her family apart. Now do you understand how she feels?"

"Admittedly, she did have a child out of wedlock."

"So?" retorted Star, looking progressively more irritated by the second. "Queen Solaria did too! How could you ever punish someone for just falling in love? You just fell in love with Dad one day!"

"As intense as my love was for your father, and still is today, I never fled from my responsibilities just so I could spend more time with him. Eclipsa, on the other hand, left her kingdom behind in the dust. She had greater responsibilities to fulfill, and she decided instead to do what made her happy. She didn't consider what would happen to anyone else, except for her."

The Mewnian princess's unyielding attitude only intensified. "What difference does it make? The MHC still lied to us. Festivia should never have been made queen, it just wasn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, dear. I think you'll come to understand that one day."

"It doesn't have to be! Think about it, Mom. If we just turned back the clock and made things they way they should have been, we could make it like none of this ever happened. We could set things right for once."

A dash of suspicion filled Moon's eyes. "What exactly are you suggesting we should do, Star?"

"Face it, Mom. We're not real Butterflies, and we never will be. We're fakes. Nobodies. But Eclipsa is, and so is her daughter, Meteora. Meteora is the kingdom's true heir, not us. All we'd have to do is find her, and—and let her have the throne she rightfully deserves!"

"Star, don't even start about Meteora," protested Moon. "We don't know if she's even alive anymore."

"You know Miss Heinous, right?"

"That hag who runs St. Olga's? What does she have anything to do with Meteora?"

"Mom, Miss Heinous is Meteora."

Moon's face lit up in surprise. "Wait, what?! You have to be joking."

"I'm not kidding, I saw it myself. Back during the Monster Bash, me and the others ended up in this weird, ancient nursery in the basement of the Monster Temple. Miss Heinous was there, then Mina showed up, and that's when we found out about Heinous' true identity!"

"That sounds preposterous."

Star raised her wand up in the air, aiming at the tall limestone barrier surrounding the courtyard.

_"Terrific Tantalizing Telecine!"_

A tremendous beam of light shot out of the wand, shining brightly onto the side of the courtyard wall. A zoomed-in image of the wall came into focus.

"I'm not making any of this up," explained Star. "Look."

The Mewnian princess turned the wand's center star counter-clockwise a couple times with her left hand before pushing it inwards. A video recording from the Monster Bash played as soon as she lifted her hand away.

* * *

_"But… how is this possible?" asked Gemini, a bewildered expression on his face._

_"Oh, it's possible, all right!" called out Mina Loveberry. She stood before the others defiantly. "I knew you'd be back here one day, Meteora!"_

_Gemini marched towards Mina, arms akimbo. His mouth puckered, forming a displeased frown._

_"I beg your pardon! This is Miss Heinous, the honorable headmistress of St. Olga's School for Wayward Princesses!"_

_"No… Meteora," admitted Heinous. "That is my name. At least, it was my name a long, long time ago."_

_A pair of club symbols formed on her cheeks, glowing brilliantly._

* * *

"I can't believe it," sputtered Moon. "Meteora's still alive, after more than three hundred years."

Star placed her wand on the table and pressed the center inward again, deactivating the spell. "See? Now all we have to do is figure out where she is, and let her take the throne!"

"Star, giving the throne to Meteora would almost certainly spell disaster. She's dangerous, and we have no idea what her true intentions might be."

"If everyone on Mewni found out what the MHC did to Eclipsa and Meteora, just imagine what they'd think! No one is gonna let an injustice like that slip by! They'd want the right thing to be done!"

Moon disagreed. "What the public would think about it is a whole other story entirely. They're probably even more averse towards Monsters than the MHC. Their views haven't ever changed, nor will they ever."

"It's the least we could do, Mom! Look at all the evil our family's done in the name of fighting the Monsters. I'm tired of fighting all the time. All I've done since I turned fourteen is fight. I fought Ludo, I fought Toffee, and now I'm fighting you, the MHC, our past, and everyone else!"

Tears welled up inside of Star's normally bright eyes. She paused for a moment, wiping her eyes with her arm before letting out a long sigh.

"I… I just wish there was peace for once, Mom."

Moon sighed. "Star, one day you'll come to understand that the past is all behind us. There's nothing we can do about that now. We need to recognize we made mistakes and move on from that. Soon, you'll understand that Mewni's problems aren't going to be solved by you being distraught over things that are set in stone. I think you still need to have some time to calm down about the trial."

"But Mom—"

"I'll let you know when dinner's ready."

Moon stood up from the bench and turned in the direction of the castle, making her way back inside.

"Wait! Mom! Come back!"

Confusion and sadness washed over Star again as her mother left her in courtyard, disappearing from view as she went into the castle via the portico. Another lengthy sigh exited Star's lips and a frown spread across her face. Reaching into her yellow, star-shaped purse, she pulled out Glossaryck and placed him on top of the table.

"Glossaryck, I know your mind's kinda out of whack right now, but you gotta listen to me. The MHC is nothing but a bunch of liars. I want to do what's best for the kingdom, even if it means giving up the throne to fix the past. What do you think? Am I right for thinking about letting Meteora take my mom's place?"

The mythical being thought pensively for several seconds before issuing a reply.

"Globgor!"

"Ugh!" yelled Star, frustration flowing through her. "You're not helping!"

The young princess took her wand in her hands again and pointed it at Glossaryck.

_"Double Dreamy Paradise Blast!"_

A pink beam of magic filled with vanilla ice cream cones and fluffy clouds surrounded Glossaryck. Almost instantaneously, his eyes shut closed and he drifted off into a deep sleep. Star placed him back inside her purse gently, along with her wand.

"Well, that went about as well as I expected," grumbled Star, a jaded tone filling her voice.

From the distance, a voice called out to the Mewnian princess.

"Hey, Star!"

It was none other than her best friend, Marco. Ornate iron plate armor covered his long, slender legs, and a large cuirass embossed with Butterfly dynasty symbols was secured over his chest.

"Hey, Marco. I take it you're back from training again?"

The teenage boy's face lit up in excitement. "Yep! I just got back from sword practice with Higgs and the others. It was really fun!"

"Yeah, I bet it was." Star tried putting on a brave face, but her smile faded almost instantly.

"Hey, is everything all right? What happened? Did Eclipsa's trial go okay?"

"If I'm being honest, Marco… a lot of stuff happened at that trial. And after all that was said, I don't think the kingdom will ever be the same again."

"What do you mean, Star?" asked Marco.

Star recalled everything that happened during Eclipsa's trial to Marco, complete with the truth about her family's ancestry, the MHC's past wrongs, Sean's obnoxiously loud court reporting debut, and, of course, Rhombulus's begrudging admission of his strong crush on Queen Moon.

"So, uh… I guess that means you're not related to Eclipsa, after all."

Star's face became even more downtrodden. "It means I'm a fake Butterfly, Marco. It means I'm destined to inherit the throne because of a string of lies. I have to do something about it."

"What were you thinking about doing to fix it?"

"Right now… I'm thinking I want Meteora to take my mom's place and become queen."

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Marco, his voice two octaves higher than usual. "Don't you remember what she tried to do to me at the Monster Bash? She almost sucked all of my life force out!"

"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Remember how much calmer she looked, after she accepted who she really was?"

"Yeah…?"

"Being cooped up in Princess Jail under a false name for three hundred years would make anyone go insane, Marco. It's obvious that Meteora's had a really tough life. I think that if we gave her what's rightfully hers, we could make it up to her."

The Mewnian princess was met by a look of concern from her friend. "You really think that would be the right decision? You've been destined to be the next queen for your whole life, Star. You're just gonna throw it all away?"

"If Mewni's gonna change, it's gotta change from the inside," said Star. "The Monster Bash was a failure. Mewmans and Monsters still aren't united. Nothing's gonna be any different unless we do something huge."

"Don't you think you could try something else? Maybe something less extreme than playing chess with who's queen and all?"

Star sighed. "Marco, I don't deserve to be queen. I'm a nobody. Meteora isn't. I hope someday I'll figure out what I want to be, but being Queen of Mewni wouldn't be doing what's right for everyone."

"Not to try to change your mind, but have you talked to anyone else about this idea?"

"Just Mom and Glossaryck. Obviously, neither were very enthusiastic about my idea."

"I'm not sure if this would help, but I'm visiting my parents on Friday. They're not experts on royalty or anything, but maybe if you came with me, they'd be able to help sort things out. And I get it if you're busy because you and Tom are going on a date again, or if—"

"Actually, I'd really like to go. I haven't seen your parents in a while, and I kinda need to apologize for up and leaving like I did at the End of the School Year party."

Marco placed his hand on Star's shoulder, comforting her. "You're always welcome to come back and visit. Not even a lizard lawyer's plans could change that."

"Aww…" cooed Star, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "Marco, your parents are so good to me."

"No problem, Star. I know there's a lot on your mind right now, but would you be up to helping me practice my sword skills for a bit? Higgs knocked me on my butt for hours today."

"Sure thing, Marco. I think it might help me feel a bit better, too."

The two teenagers walked back into Butterfly Castle together, hoping a little combat practice would help them decompress after the sobering news from Eclipsa's trial. They made their way up the stairs to Star's room, hoping that within the days to come, the answer to the problem of Meteora would soon be at hand.


	2. Marco Jr.

* * *

**Season 3, Episode 15b: Marco Jr.**

* * *

Star and Marco stepped out of a dimensional portal and into Echo Creek. The two teenagers immediately began heading towards the Diaz house, which stood several yards in front of them.

"Wow," said Star. "It's been an eternity since I was last here on Earth."

"Me too, Star," added Marco. "I'm sure my parents will be happy to see us,"

After approaching the front door of the house, the teenage squire softly knocked on it three times. After a brief pause, the door slowly came open, and they were each greeted by Marco's dad, Rafael. He quickly stepped forward, enveloping Star and Marco in a large hug.

"Marco! Star! It's so nice to see you again!"

"Hey! How's it been here at the Diaz house?" asked the Mewnian princess.

"Mostly the same as usual, with one small change."

"What kinda change?" asked Marco. "We get new wallpaper or something while I was away?"

Rafael turned around and yelled in the direction of the stairwell. "Oh, honey! Star and Marco are here!"

Angie came down the stairs from the second floor and walked towards the front of the house until she was directly aside her husband. Like usual, she wore an orange shirt with an olive green skirt underneath. However, one very obvious difference presented itself almost instantly: her normally trim abdomen protruded several inches outwards, taking on the shape of a sphere.

Marco's jaw dropped wide open. "Y-You're pregnant?!"

"Yep!" confirmed Angie.

A high-pitched squeal escaped Star's lips, a Cheshire grin quickly running from one side of her face to the other. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Marco's gonna have a baby brother or baby sister!"

"And pretty soon, it seems like," added Marco, looking at his mother's round stomach in disbelief.

"We wanted it to be a surprise for you, mijo!" explained Rafael.

"It sure was one," said Marco, the confusion on his face pronouncing itself even more.

Angie reached her arms outwards towards her son. "Could I have a hug, Marco?"

"Sure thing, Mom."

Marco weakly gave his mother a hug, his arms barely reaching around her shoulders.

Star folded her arms in contempt. "Marco, you're not gonna hurt the baby! Give your mom a real hug!"

Marco's expression changed to one of slight shame. "Okay, sorry."

He moved closer to Angie and came up close to her, placing his arms around her in a bigger, more heartfelt embrace.

"So, aside from all the pregnancy news, what else is going on?" asked Star.

"We were going to stop by the OB to have an ultrasound," said Angie.

"What's an OB?"

"An obstetrician. A doctor who takes care of babies who haven't been born yet. I don't suppose you want to come with us?"

Star's palpable excitement nearly doubled. "Absolutely! There's no way we'd wanna miss out. Right, Marco?"

"You'd be right, Star," answered Marco in agreement.

The four made their way out of the front door and headed towards the open garage. Parked to the right of the antiquated family minivan was a sleek, brand new sedan with a luster coat of deep blue paint.

"You guys got a new car, too?" asked Marco.

"After driving the minivan for over fifteen years, it was time for something different," said Angie.

Star sat in the left rear seat, while Marco took the seat on the right side. Almost immediately, the Mewnian princess took to the comfort controls on the armrest. She giggled slightly as she raised and lowered the window screen a few times.

"I like the window things!" said Star, entertained and excited.

"The leather seats are really comfy, too," added Marco.

"It's a little different, but I'll get used to it," added Rafael, placing the keys into the ignition and starting the car. Backing out of the driveway and turning into the street, the four of them began the fifteen minute drive to the obstetrician's office.

* * *

Star walked with the Diaz family into an examination room, lead by the receptionist. Angie took a seat on top of a maroon-colored table in the center of the room, while everyone else sat down in green chairs positioned near the back wall.

"Dr. Henderson will be with you in a couple minutes."

"Sounds great," said Angie.

"So, mom, how long have you known the OB?" asked Marco.

"She was my OB since the time I was pregnant with you."

"Wow," said Star in amazement. "You've known her for a loooong time, then."

"Let's just say we've been on a first name basis for a while."

The door to the room opened, and the obstetrician walked in. She was about Angie's age, with long, straight red hair, blue eyes, and with sparse freckles dotting her face. She wore a blue dress shirt and dark pants, with a white doctor's coat over her shirt.

"Good afternoon, Angie! How's your day been?" asked the doctor.

"Oh, it's been fine, Cynthia!" answered Angie. "I spent some time hanging out around the house. Then, my son, Marco came to visit, along with his best friend, Star Butterfly."

Cynthia turned to face the Mewnian princess. "So you're Star."

"Yeah! This is the first time I've ever seen an OB before. All I really know about them is that they like to wear fancy lab coats."

The custom blue embroidery on Cynthia's lab coat spelled out all of her qualifications: Dr. Cynthia M. Henderson, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"You'd be right, Star. Don't worry about all the abbreviations, though. You can call me Cynthia."

"You must have gone to school for a long time to get all that," supposed Marco.

"It was a lot of hard work, but I don't regret it one bit. Being able to care for patients like your mom is the best part of my job."

Cynthia then turned to her patient to prepare for the ultrasound.

"All right, first thing's first. Has anything changed since the last time we met?"

Angie's hands moved downwards, softly coming to rest around her baby bump. "Not that I can tell. The baby's been kicking a lot, like usual, and I'm starting to look and feel… well… pregnant."

Cynthia laughed. "As the mother of two young boys, I know exactly what you're talking about. Being pregnant stinks sometimes, but it's all worth it in the end!"

"Oh, yes," said Angie.

"Next, let's have you get on the bed and we're going to see how your baby's doing!"

Angie laid down supine on the table. She then slowly pulled her dull orange shirt upwards, exposing her noticeably round, firm abdomen.

"One thing's for sure, Angie," said Cynthia, removing the flip cap off of a small tube of ultrasound gel and taking it in her hand. "You definitely fit the mold of being a pregnant woman."

"It'd be pretty hard to not notice," mentioned Rafael.

Cynthia squeezed a generously sized amount of the light blue gel onto Angie's stomach, then placed the ultrasound's probe into the gel and began moving it around.

"What's the jelly stuff for?" asked Star.

"It makes sure we'll get a good picture on the screen from the ultrasound machine, which will let us take a look at the baby."

An image formed on the computer monitor attached to the machine. The baby was in the center, floating inside of Angie's womb and occasionally moving around.

"There," mentioned Cynthia, pointing to the center of the screen. "You can see the baby really well."

"Oooh…" whispered Star in awe.

Cynthia occasionally moved the probe around, looking at the monitor to get a view of the area around the baby and the other organs inside of Angie's abdomen.

"From what I can see, you're bound to be due in late March or early April, Angie. Everything looks like it's going smoothly, and your baby is at a healthy size for this point in your pregnancy."

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" asked Marco.

"The thing is, it's kinda hard to tell," answered Cynthia. "The baby's in a spot where it's hard to see from this angle."

A slight tinge of disappointment presented itself on Star's face. "Awww, that stinks!"

"Don't worry," said Angie. "Seeing as we've had trouble finding out for a while, I've been thinking we should find out during delivery. How about you, Rafael?"

"Sure thing! It's just that it would be a big surprise."

"Surprises are fun!" beamed Star. "Aren't they, Marco?"

"You can say that again," returned Marco, his response filled with sarcasm.

Cynthia put the ultrasound probe away and grabbed some wipes from a cabinet at the side of the room. She gently cleaned the ultrasound gel off of Angie and used a paper towel to dry up the excess moisture. Once she was finished, Angie pulled her shirt back down, tucking it back into her skirt.

"I'd like to have one more check-up just before you deliver," mentioned Cynthia. "If you could some back in around a month from now, I think that would work best."

Angie returned her request with a smile. "That's great! I'll make sure to mark it down on my calendar."

"As always, if anything changes, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Not a problem, Cynthia. I know you wouldn't want to miss out on the delivery!"

The doctor got a laugh out of her patient's joking remark. "Oh, Angie. There's always something, isn't there?"

"Yep!"

"Have a good rest of your day!" beamed Cynthia, exiting the room and allowing the door to shut softly behind her.

"I think have got an idea for what we could name the baby!" mentioned Star, excitement emanating from her voice.

"What is it, Star?" asked Angie.

"You could name the baby Marco Jr., after Marco!"

Rafael and Angie quickly burst out laughing at Star's suggestion, much to Marco's chagrin.

"Star, you've gotta be kidding me!" exclaimed Marco, unimpressed.

"What's so bad about it?" asked Star. "It would be neat!"

"Star, you name people after their parents, not their siblings!"

"So what if it's never been done before? It doesn't mean we couldn't try!"

Marco remained unconvinced. "I think it's weird."

"I think it would be really cute!" insisted Star.

"I suppose we should at least consider it!" jokingly remarked Angie.

Marco sighed in mild annoyance. "C'mon, Mom!"

* * *

Angie took a large baking dish out of the oven, setting it down gently on the kitchen table.

"Star, Marco, check this out."

Four large, ceramic ramekins sat on the baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Each was topped with a layer of slightly browned mashed potatoes.

"Woah…" whispered Marco in admiration. "What is it?"

"Shepherd's pie. It's an old Phalange family recipe, straight from my grandma's cookbook."

The Mewnian princess's intrigue intensified. "Where does the last name 'Phalange' come from, anyway?"

"I'm pretty sure it's Greek," explained Angie. "But my mom's side is Irish."

"Ah, I see," said Star.

Angie carefully set each of the hot ramekins on individual plates before pushing the plates towards the other side of the table, where everyone was seated and ready to eat.

Without hesitating, Star took a bit of the pie. The warm and savory flavor of mashed potatoes, gravy, and lamb quickly surged through her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, it really is as good as it looks."

Angie smiled back at her. "See? The magic of cooking always brings family together."

"It really does," said Star. A sensation of awkwardness entered her mind as she remembered the last time she was on Earth. "Sorry for leaving like I did at the End of the Year Party."

"It's all right, Star. From what we've heard, Toffee was a pretty nasty guy. We're glad you and Marco were able to stop him before he destroyed Mewni."

"Me too," returned Star flatly. She wished she could say more about how she felt, but knew that she couldn't. Tom was her boyfriend now, and bringing up her crush reveal from the party was sure to make both her and Marco uncomfortable.

"Say, do we have any ice cream sandwiches left?" asked Angie, temporarily leaving her seat and heading for the freezer.

"This is the third time you've wanted one today!" retorted her husband.

"You know what they say, you gotta eat for two when you're pregnant!"

"Speaking of babies," interjected Star, "There's a little something that's been going on back on Mewni that I need some advice on."

"What is it?" asked Angie.

"Basically, my great-great-great-something grandma was frozen in a crystal for falling in love and having a kid with a Monster. After Marco and I stopped Toffee, she became free. The MHC wanted to freeze her again because she supposedly did all these horrible things. There was this trial for Eclipsa so we could all see what really happened. And during the trial we found out I'm actually not related to Eclipsa. I descended from Festivia, this peasant girl who got put on the throne by the MHC after Eclipsa's family was crystallized and taken away."

Rafael's latest spoonful into his shepherd's pie abruptly stopped. "So, what you're saying is… you're not really a princess?"

"Well, no," explained Star. "I'm still a princess. The thing is, I shouldn't. That's what Eclipsa's daughter, Meteora, should be. I think my mom should abdicate and have Meteora take the throne, like she deserved to. I just don't know how to do it."

"It would just be so… different if you weren't royalty," noted Angie. "It's part of who you are, Star. You've always been that spunky teen princess who kicks the butts of Monsters and defends her kingdom."

"But that's the problem," said Star. "I'm defined by what others think I should be, not who I really am. There's so many things I have to do now that I'm back on Mewni. I can't go dimension hopping or hang out with friends without my royalty standing in the way. I have to do something about it."

Angie sighed. "As hard as it is, I see where you're coming from."

"But my mom doesn't see it the same way," continued Star, somewhat discouraged. "I don't know how I'd be able to get through to her about it."

"Are you sure that Meteora wants to be queen?" asked Angie.

"Being queen would sure beat running Princess Jail," remarked Star, sarcasm filling her voice.

"This might come off as silly, but what would change if she became queen?"

"The MHC's wrongs against Eclipsa would be fixed, and Monsters won't be seen as evil any more."

"But, what will you do when you're no longer a princess?" interjected Rafael.

Star deflected his concerns. "I'm… not sure. But I can always figure that out later."

"Right," said Marco. "The thing is, where do we start? Queen Moon doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of our idea, and unless she—"

"Hold on," interrupted Star. "I think I have an idea."

"What is it?" asked the teenage squire, perplexed.

Star laid out her plan simply, but concisely. "We could find Meteora, bring her to my mom, and show her how she feels. This could be the thing we need to convince her to support my idea!"

Marco was curious, but concerned. "Where are we going to find her?"

Star thought for a brief moment, then returned an answer.

"Marco, we have to go back to Saint O's."


End file.
